Mississippi county sends toys to Harvey-affected children

By Melanie Feuk, mfeuk@hcnonline.com

December 21, 2017

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

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Sheriff Kenny Cotton, center, of the Pike County Sheriff's Dept. in Summit, MS., helps unpack bags of Christmas toys that he delivered to the Huffman ISD Administration Building with Monica Dorcz, from left, Grace Smith, and Melissa Hutchinson, from right, Principal at Ben Bowen Early Childhood Center, on Dec. 20, 2017. (Photo by Jerry Baker/Freelance) less

Sheriff Kenny Cotton, center, of the Pike County Sheriff's Dept. in Summit, MS., helps unpack bags of Christmas toys that he delivered to the Huffman ISD Administration Building with Monica Dorcz, from left, ... more

"The Pike County Sheriff's Department does a toy drive every year and it's a big deal up there," said Shirley Dupree, executive director of Huffman ISD HR/Communications and Education Foundation. "This year, they decided to do something to help a Harvey-affected community in Texas."

The Sheriff's Department partnered with other local entities to host the toy drive and encouraged citizens of Pike County to contribute.

Toy drive organizers sought a community in need of toy donations for holiday gifts and were eventually put in touch with Huffman ISD.

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"They got our district's name, called and said they were doing the drive and asked if we had a need," Dupree said. "I said, 'absolutely.'"

Pike County's toy drive effort for Huffman was already a generous act, but Dupree was astounded when the county sheriff insisted on personally driving the toys down and delivering them to the Huffman ISD Administration Building on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

"For this county to do the toy drive for us and then actually drive here from out-of-state, it's unbelievable," Dupree said. "I can't explain what it feels like to get calls like this. I even offered to meet him half-way, but he wanted to drive it down here."

Approximately 100 children in Huffman are expected to benefit from Pike County's donation. The school district is formulating a distribution strategy, which Dupree said will be posted on the Huffman ISD website and Facebook page.

This donation adds to the growing list of support Huffman ISD has received after Hurricane Harvey from communities near and far, including Louisiana, Arkansas, and now, Mississippi.

"We have been blessed by so many people across the country, and I mean "Blessed" is the word here," Dupree said.

Dupree was nervous in the weeks following the hurricane. While immediate relief was readily given, she was uncertain how long the outpouring of support would last.

"In the beginning, there is that frenzy to help," Dupree said. "We had donations coming in, help with resources. But, in my mind I was thinking, 'We definitely need the help now, but there's going to come a point at which we're going to need help down the road, as people start moving back into their homes.'"

A gesture like the toy donation from Pike County comes as a reassurance to Dupree that communities across the United States have not forgotten about the needs still present in communities affected by Harvey.

"We still have things coming in, which is such a blessing because this is a time of great need for these families," Dupree said.